Another highway speed vibration thread

[Worldclimb]

I've had this problem for about a year, and not being able to go over 60 is getting old, and I have a long drive to see the eclipse coming up. So Last few days I've been going at this problem, but nothing so far has fixed it. Its a 2005 XLT V6 4.0 gas.

I've read a lot of threads, and tried a lot of things. I'm willing to keep going till this is fixed.

Vibration starts at 60mph, just get worse as speed increases. By 80mph it's worse than I'm comfortable driving. It's no worse when I brake, so not likely the rotors (I think I replaced them last break change).

Vibration no worse in steering/pedals, than the vehicle as a whole, and I can't feel if it's worse up front or the back. It's the same when accelerating, coasting in N (at 70mph) or under power in drive. Turning doesn't make a difference.

No noises from anywhere. No play in the steering. No play in rear tie rods. No unusual tire wear.

What I've tried...
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Tires replaced and balanced when they were fitted, and balanced again since.

3x ujoints replaced in front and rear drive shafts.

Both rear CV axles replaced.

Run without rear drive shaft (in 4wd), run without front drive shaft. Vibrates both ways, so not likely the front or rear drive shaft is out of balance.

Both rear wheel bearings replaced.


My next thing to try I suppose is taking out the rear CV axles and running it up to speed to isolate the rear diff? Any other suggestions that are less labor intensive to try first?

 

[toypaseo]

When I had some vibration issues after installing a pair of used tires bought from Discount Tire on eBay, they recommended finding the closest business that uses a Hunter Road Force Touch GSP9700 balancing machine. http://www.hunter.com/gsp9700

The tires were mounted and balanced twice, before I called Discount Tire on what to do. After they were balanced on the Hunter machine, no vibrations.

Out of curiosity, where do you plan to view the eclipse?

 

[Worldclimb]

When I had some vibration issues after installing a pair of used tires bought from Discount Tire on eBay, they recommended finding the closest business that uses a Hunter Road Force Touch GSP9700 balancing machine. http://www.hunter.com/gsp9700

The tires were mounted and balanced twice, before I called Discount Tire on what to do. After they were balanced on the Hunter machine, no vibrations.

But I've changed the tires since this started, so I think balance not likely the cause. Balance problems in my experience come in at a speed (55-70), and usually reduces at some point as you speed up. My vibrations just gets worse up to 80. I'm not saying it isn't tires, I just doubt getting them force balanced will fix it. Did your vibration feel like how I describe, or like a more usual balance issue?

Out of curiosity, where do you plan to view the eclipse?

Depends on the weather but somewhere between Casper and Jackson probably. I might as well go see the Tetons/Yellowstone if I'm heading all that way.

 

[toypaseo]

My vibration issue was somewhat like yours, but was noticeable pry like 55+. Sometimes, it would not even be there, but most times it was there.

 

[Frank1669]

By your description of the problem my first checks would be to inspect all suspension bushings. then check that the wheels are torqued to proper specs following bolt tighten order. next If you have a full size spare Use it to swap out 1 tire at a time. ( a slightly bent rim can be balanced at least to the machine). If you have alloy wheels did they "Static" balance the tires- wheel weights only on inside of rims? or "Dynamic" balance weights on inside and outside of rims? Dynamic is what you want. Check your shocks/struts. Not as likely but check your motor and tranny mounts as well. I do not know your skill or knowledge level but sometimes you are money ahead to pay a reputable/trusted shop to diagnose a problem instead of changing parts unnecessarily. Hope that helps some.